Stalked
by Elanquest
Summary: Someone is stalking Caitlin.
1. Chapter 1

**INTRODUCTION**

This is not my story. I didn't write it. It was posted on an old website of fan fiction. I tried to determine who did write it (to ask permission and all that), but couldn't. I did heavily modify the original story. Not only did I correct grammatical errors (there are probably some I missed), but I also added bits and pieces.

Access the original story at ./1999/behind/articles/fanfiction/fan9_

**"Stalked"**

Caitlin made her way slowly to her apartment door. She put the key in the lock and opened it gratefully. Letting her carry on and the sack she held fall to the floor with a thud, she leaned against the door frame for just a moment.

"Why do I do this to myself? Every time I go home it's the same thing," she said exasperated. "Are you ever going to meet someone? When are you going to get married? Mothers!"

It had been three months since she'd last been there. Her neighbor, Dee Dee McCall, had kept her word and watered her plants. Caitlin put her cane down against the back of the sofa and glanced at the answering machine. The light was flashing away madly.

Three months was way too long to be away from here, from Le, Dominic, and especially Hawke. She remembered telling them she was going home to recover from the crash.

_"I have to go. Both of you met my mother. She wants me home for a while. I've decided to indulge her for just a bit to stop the arguing."_

_"Okay. But, I don't like you leaving so soon after getting out of the hospital," Dominic said. "String, you're not saying much."_

_"Can't change a woman's mind when she's made it up," Hawke stated without so much as turning around to look at Caitlin._

_"Talk to him Cait, try to make him understand," Dominic said._

_He gave Hawke a worried look before heading to his office in an effort to leave them alone. Maybe Cait could get through to him. After all, it wasn't as if she wasn't coming back. He hoped._

_"Hawke, please look at me."_

_Hawke turned around. His eyes settled on the cast on Caitlin's left leg, then the small bandage covering the stitches in her head. She'd been in rough shape following the Jet Ranger crash, but was better now than she'd been while still in the hospital._

_"I won't be gone long, just a few weeks, maybe until this darn cast comes off."_

_She started to move over to him. He motioned for her to stop and moved to meet her. He saw the tears in her eyes. She didn't want to leave. He reached out and wrapped her in his arms._

_"Don't stay away too long," he whispered in her ear. "You have to come back and spend some time with Le and me at the cabin."_

_"You've got yourself a deal Mr. Hawke, but that definitely means that the cast has to be off."_

Caitlin shook herself back to reality.

"Well should I check those messages now or should I take a long hot bath to recover from my so called vacation?"

"The bath sounds like the better idea."

The voice came from behind her. She turned around breaking out into the first smile she'd had in weeks. Standing in the doorway was Dominic Santini. He had the biggest grin across his face and in his hand was a single rose.

"Dom, you scared me half to death!"

He closed the door as he entered the apartment and handed Caitlin the rose.

"Sorry kid. Hey welcome home." He gave her a big hug. "I gather from the expression on your face that you didn't have a good trip home."

"It felt more like the third degree. You'd think _she_ was the one recovering from a helicopter crash, not me. Remind me next time, I would be better off recovering in a FIRM hospital than at my mother's."

"That bad?"

"That bad," she said with a small laugh.

Caitlin slipped out of the hug and sat down on the sofa. She motioned for Dom to join her.

"Speaking of the crash, how are you feeling? The cast is gone and you seem to be walking better on that leg."

She reached down and rubbed her calf.

"It still hurts a bit from time to time and it still isn't strong enough to hold my weight without help, hence the cane, but it's getting there. By the way, what are you doing here; I wasn't due back from Dallas until next week from the last time I talked to you and Hawke?"

"Erin called the office this morning. Said you and your mother got into it pretty heavy last night and that you caught the first plane back to LA this morning."

"Yeah, Mom wants me to stop flying, settle down, and get married. It's been the same argument that we've been having since I came to LA. But Dom, it's been getting worse since Dad died last year. All three of us kids have been getting it both barrels at once. Even Erin gets asked when she's having grandkids."

Caitlin laid her head back and closed her eyes.

"How's Hawke handling having a teenager at the cabin?"

"He won't admit anything but he's enjoying it. He has also missed having you around, so have I."

Caitlin smiled. The idea of Hawke being a father to his brother's child made sense to her knowing Hawke as well as she did. It just seemed like the thing he would do. A serious look came across her face and she turned to face Dominic.

"What did those investigators of Michael's turn up on the crash?"

"The chopper was tampered with."

"What! Tampered with, but how?"

"Yes tampered with, and Mr. Whiter Than Snow won't tell me how. He's also very concerned because you weren't supposed to fly that day. String was but that other job came up and they requested him."

"Have there been any other incidents since the crash?"

"No, but there have been strange telephone calls. Hang-ups, and there was one message on the machine that said that they could get to you but they didn't say who 'you' was."

"That is weird. What do you think is going on?"

"I don't know what to think Cait. Only I'm grateful you're as great a pilot as you are."

"Dom, any pilot with a brain could have landed that bird with no tail rotor, and probably better than I did. They would have walked away from it."

"Cait, give yourself some credit. The way she was spinning…Your Airwolf experience enabled you to land that chopper without hurting anyone on the ground. But, I have to admit, you had me scared to death the way you were slumped unconscious inside of her."

"Well, I'm home, and much better thank you very much. I'm ready to return to work. At least the Santini Air stuff, the Lady will have to wait a while."

"Now hold on there, you're still officially on sick leave for another two weeks so enjoy it. Take some time to recover from your recovery."

The telephone rang. Caitlin debated a moment on whether to answer when a thought occurred.

"Does Hawke know that I'm back?"

"Nah, he was out at the cabin with Half Pint when Erin called so I didn't bother him. Why?"

"Nothing, I'll just let the machine answer. It's probably Mom anyway."

She was right. As Dom apologized for staying too long, Caitlin's mother's voice came into the room saying that she was sorry for the way she acted and that she hoped Caitlin would call her next week sometime.

"Dom, why don't you let me unpack, shower and change then come back here and pick me up? We can surprise Hawke and Le out at the cabin."

"That sounds like a good idea. I'll see you in a couple of hours. I have to pick up a few things for String."

"Great. I'll see you then."

She walked Dominic to the door seeing him out. After giving him a quick kiss on the cheek she closed and locked the door. She telephoned her sister to let her know that she'd arrived home and to thank her for letting Dom know she was coming home early. She unpacked her carryon and was glad she'd packed light as she was exhausted from the trip. She made sure she put the sack she'd carried aside so she would remember to take it with her to the cabin. It was a present for Le.

A few hours later, Dom knocked on her door.

Caitlin grabbed Le's present and opened the door for Dom.

He let out a whistle.

"Mama Mia, you clean up real nice Red!"

"Stop it Dom." She took a mock swat at him. "It's just jeans and a blouse."

Dom let out a laugh. He liberated the sack from Cait.

"What's this?"

"Just a present for Le," Caitlin answered as she locked the door. They drove to Santini Air in the familiar red, white, and blue jeep. Before long they were in the air, heading towards Eagle Lake.

Caitlin was a little nervous about seeing Hawke again after so long. She'd missed him terribly. The separation had been longer than she had intended. Her mother had guilted her into staying weeks longer that she should have. The whole experience made her take a long look at the depth of her feelings for Hawke.

Caitlin thought back to just after the crash. She woke up in the hospital. Never in her life did she think she could ever hurt so much. A concussion, a few broken ribs and her left leg was broken. She glanced around the room.

Hawke was looking out the window and Dom was out in the hall talking with a doctor. Michael was nowhere to be seen and that was a blessing of sorts.

"Hey, what does a girl have to do to get a glass of water around here?" Her voice was a little raspy and she wondered just how long she'd been out.

Hawke turned around immediately. His face was an impassive mask. His eyes locked onto hers. He moved over to her bed.

"Well, it's about time."

"How long have I been out?"

Hawke swept some hair from Caitlin's face.

"About thirteen hours." He couldn't help the slightly accusatory tone. He smiled to try and brush away the obvious concern. "But who's counting."

Caitlin tried to move. A sharp pain made her gasp for breath.

"Oh god!"

"Hey, stay still." Hawke's hand covered hers. "Remember, helicopter and ground meeting at a high rate of speed, not good."

"Okay, I get the point. Besides the way I feel I won't be moving for a while."

Hawke smiled. Their eyes met. She could see the concern he was trying to hide. She'd scared him.

"Hawke…" she began.

"Cait," he said at the same time.

At that moment the doctor entered the room.

"Cait, Earth to Cait, we're here."

"Oh. All ready?" She looked out at the cabin.

"Yes, where were you just now?"

"Nowhere really," she answered. "Just, thinking."

Dominic walked around to Caitlin's side and helped her down.

Hawke was upstairs when he heard the chopper come over the mountains. He made his way quickly down the stairs. He was opening the cabin door to greet his old friend when he saw him helping someone out of the other side.

_Now who could that be?_ He thought to himself. When he caught a glimpse of strawberry blonde hair, he found himself smiling.

"Caitlin! She's home!"

A sudden weight seemed to lift from his heart. Caitlin was home. He finally felt like she was safe. Back here with Dom and him.

"Howdy stranger," she called out. Her accent had reasserted itself during her absence. "Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna give me a hug?"

Hawke walked down the stairs to meet her. He picked her up and spun her around glad to see her. He then put her down gently, minding the injured leg and the cane she carried.

"There is that better," he laughed hugging her.

"I'm not sure. I'll let you know when the world stops spinning," she laughed.

"If you two are quite finished fooling around there are groceries to be brought in."

"Yes Dad!" Hawke and Caitlin said in unison.

"Caitlin!"

She turned at the sound.

"Le, how're you doing?" She stretched out her arms.

Hawke's nephew came running from behind the cabin with Tet bounding along behind.

"Great!" He gladly accepted her hug. "How was Dallas?"

"Still standing, here I brought you something." She handed over the sack she retrieved from the chopper.

"Herschell Walker number thirty-four! Thanks," Le said. "Look Uncle String, a Dallas Cowboys shirt.

"You're going to spoil him, Cait." Hawke whispered in her ear.

She started at the warm breath against her neck. She hadn't realized he was that close to her.

"That's okay because I know you won't," she said with a grin.

They both stood there smiling happily at each other for a moment. The moment was broken when Le reached between for the bag of groceries Dom handed him. Hawke cleared his throat.

"I guess we'd better get inside."

With the fresh groceries, Dom and Hawke started to cook a feast. Caitlin sat at the table out of the way watching them both. It felt good to be back with her guys.

"How do I look?" Le said coming down the stairs.

"Great but I think you'll have to grow into it. It's a bit big."

"A bit big, Cait, he swims in it," Hawke commented.

Caitlin laughed. She got up from the table and started to move to the sofa in front of the fireplace when she felt her leg start to give out from beneath her. Hawke, who was walking behind her, caught her before she fell. He held onto her concern evident in the way he looked at her. She patted his arm in reassurance and let him help her to the sofa.

"Don't let Dom know," she whispered as he helped her sit. "He's worried enough that I came home early."

Hawke glanced toward the kitchen then scowled at her. He knelt in front of her and laid a hand on her knee.

"Okay, but you have to slow down or your leg won't heal properly."

Caitlin nodded in agreement.

Le sat down on the floor at the end of the coffee table and started to finish his homework.

Hawke put a log on the fire and sat down beside Cait. She relaxed and laid her head on Hawke's shoulder as he put his arm around her.

Dom looked over from the kitchen about to ask Cait a question. The words died on his lips as he took in the homey picture.

_What a perfect family_, he thought to himself. _I wish those two would quit pretending and admit that they have feelings for each other._

Sometime later, Dom walked into the living room.

"Dinner will be ready soon," Dom said. "But, I don't think Caitlin will be joining us."

Hawke looked down at her. Caitlin had fallen asleep against his chest. He eased his arm down, carefully picked her up, and carried her upstairs. He gently placed her down on his bed. Caitlin woke just as Hawke covered her with a blanket. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You over did it today, coming home and then here huh."

"I guess so."

"Well, you get some rest. I'll have Dom take Le. After they leave I'll crash on the sofa." He gave a humorless laugh. "Sorry, bad choice of words."

"That's okay," she said with a yawn. "But I can go home you know."

"Cait, you and I both know you won't get any rest at your apartment with your mother calling every ten minutes. You'll stay here. No more discussion. Besides that was our deal. You were to spend a few days here when you got back."

_With you __**and **__Le,_ she thought. _What's going on with you, Hawke?_

"I remember. Okay you win. I'll stay."

Hawke adjusted the blankets and squeezed her hand. He turned the beside lamp off and moved to the door.

Caitlin murmured a contented sigh and fell back asleep.

He stood in the doorway for a few moments and watched his Caitlin sleep, _his Caitlin_. Now there's a thought. He lingered just a moment more before he went back down the stairs.

"She woke up," he said as he stepped off the last stair. "But I told her she's staying here and getting some much needed rest."

"Uncle String isn't that why she left in the first place, to get some rest."

"Yeah," he said with a wry grin. "But Caitlin and her mother have a hard time understanding one another. So, the rest part of her trip home didn't exactly happen."

Dominic ruffled Le's hair.

"Come on let's eat. I'll pick Cait up in the morning, after I drop Half Pint here off at school."

"Actually," he paused. "I think Cait's gonna stay a few days."

Hawke, Dom and Le ate the dinner. After dinner Le took Tet out for one last walk before he and Dom were to go back to town. He'd only been gone a few minutes when a scream came from upstairs. Hawke and Dom sprinted for Hawke's room. Caitlin was tossing and turning. Hawke rushed over to the bed. Dom lingered in the doorway watching Hawke trying to wake Caitlin and comfort her all at the same time.

"Cait! Cait come on wake up!" He put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a firm shake.

A startled Caitlin opened her eyes.

"Hey. You were having a nightmare." He said as he sat on the bed. His hands lingered on her shoulders.

Caitlin started to shake.

Hawke leaned over and held her. She started to cry in front of them, something she had never done in the three years that they had known her. Hawke motioned to Dominic to come over to the bed. Dom sat down and held on to her hand.

Hawke heard Le coming back from his walk. He told him to wait downstairs for a while and that they'd be down in a bit.

"Cait, hon, how long have you been having nightmares?" Dom asked.

Caitlin wiped her eyes. Hawke began to rub her back in a soothing gesture.

"Since the crash," she whispered.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I thought I could handle them. That's one of the reasons I went home. I thought being home would help… but the arguing with Mom only made it worst. Erin sat with me most nights so Mom never knew about them."

Caitlin closed her eyes. Tears were still flowing.

"Cait, it'll be okay." Hawke whispered into her ear as he wrapped her in another hug.

"I never told you what happened in the cockpit of the chopper before I lost everything. I didn't remember much while I was in the hospital. The doctor said it was the drugs I was on for the pain. Once I got back to Dallas, the memories started coming back. That's when the nightmares started to get very graphic. Before then they were just bad dreams that would wake me up with a start. A glass of warm milk and I'd go back to sleep and not have another dream. But now, it's every night."

"Are you alright to come downstairs? We can have coffee and talk about it," Dom said.

"I guess so. Just give me a minute."

Dom nodded and went downstairs noting that Hawke didn't immediately follow.

Hawke sat on the edge of the bed rubbing Caitlin's back for several minutes. Finally, he made a move to leave.

"Hawke, don't go."

Hawke sat down beside her again.

"What do you need Cait?" The gentle tone of his voice encouraged her to take his hand in hers.

"Can you take me up in Airwolf tomorrow? It's been nearly four months and I miss her, if you can miss a helicopter?"

"Yes you can miss a helicopter." He squeezed her hand. "And yes I'll take you up, if you think you're ready."

"I don't want to fly her." She said quickly. "I'll let you do that. I just want to listen to the sounds."

"Cait, everything will be alright." Hawke said as Caitlin's eyes began to tear up again.

"Maybe we should send Le up here when we talk. I don't want to scare him. It's bad enough he saw the crash."

Hawke moved to let Caitlin up out of the bed. She stumbled a bit as her leg had stiffened from the lack of use during sleep. Hawke reached out to catch her but she waved him off. She told him that it did this all the time and that it just took a minute or two to stretch out.

They sat down in the living room area. Caitlin was on the couch and Le sat beside her. He had said that he wanted to know what she was going through. Hawke said that it was alright for him to stay as long as it was okay with Cait.

Cait took a sip of coffee from the mug that Dom passed her. She took a deep breath.

"Right off the top, Dom, you watched me do the walk around before I lifted off. Everything was in order. The chopper started with no hesitation or anything. The engine sounded fine and the tail rotor was behaving normally. I lifted off and was at about two thousand feet when everything started to go south. There was a sudden jerk. I knew at that point I'd lost tail control. Immediately I started to look for a spot to set her down safely without injuring anyone on the ground. I radioed my situation. You called for the fire trucks. I heard you tell Le to get a hold of Hawke at the other site. Less than a minute later I lost the electrical system. The top rotor had no power. The chopper started to fall out of the sky. The next thing I really remember was waking up in the hospital in more pain than I had ever been in. I don't even remember hitting the ground. But the nightmares are always the same thing, me watching the ground rushing up and there's nothing I can do to stop it, then I wake up."

"But Cait, you've been in nearly identical situations with Airwolf and you've come out of them with no problems."

"I know Dom that's what's so puzzling. I should be fine with this. No one was hurt on the ground and I'm recovering from my injuries…but the nightmares keep happening."

"I think it may be plaguing your mind that I told you that the chopper was tampered with."

"Could be Dom, but I had the nightmares before that. It bothers me that there's someone out there with a grudge so big that that person's willing to do something like tamper with a chopper."

"Uncle String?"

"Yes Le"

"There were a lot of people there that day. I watched a lot of them look at the chopper admiring the paint job. But there were so many of them around that I couldn't see if any of them were trying to do something. But, I thought that there could have been just one..."

"That's okay Le," Caitlin responded not hearing the last part. "It's not your responsibility to watch for that sort of stuff."

"Cait's right Half Pint," Dom interjected. "That's the responsibility of the production company we were shooting for that day."

"What we need is a list of all the people who were there that day that were supposed to be there and a list of those who weren't there but were supposed to be." Hawke stated.

"Hawke, how are we going to find them?"

Hawke looked over at Caitlin as she said his name. For the first time since the crash he saw exactly how terrified she was behind the bravado. The idea that someone had sabotage the Jet Ranger and that the target of the act was unknown scared him also, but it was really bothering Caitlin.

Hawke shot Dom a concerned look.

"Well maybe I had better get this boy back to my place so he can get to school in the morning. After I drop him off I'll get a hold of the production company and get those lists. String, maybe you should call Michael tomorrow and fill him in on the details Cait gave us."

Le packed up his homework and hugged Caitlin goodbye. He thanked her again for the shirt and he and Dominic left for Dom's apartment.

Caitlin walked into the kitchen and placed her mug in the sink.

Hawke watched her go. He was still watching when she braced herself against the counter and dropped her head. He walked over to see if she was alright. He pulled a sobbing Caitlin into his arms and held her as she cried.

"Oh look at me," she said when she could finally dry her eyes. "I should be used to being shot at, blown up, or held hostage."

"Let's not forget being infected with a deadly virus. Cait, it'll be alright. We'll get to the bottom of this and besides…all of those times we knew who was doing the shooting, blowing up, and the holding hostage. This time, at the moment, we don't know who did the tampering or why. But I promise you, we will find out."

"I'm just unnerved with what's going on, Hawke."

"I know."

Caitlin walked over to the sofa. She stopped, noticing Hawke wasn't following her. She turned around to see Him watching her. She couldn't read his expression.

"What are you starring at?"

"You, you've changed a lot since I first met you in Texas a little over two years ago."

Caitlin sat down on the sofa.

"What do you mean by 'changed' Mr. Hawke?"

Hawke crossed the living room and sat down beside her.

"I mean you're stronger, more confident in your abilities."

"Or at least I was before this damn crash."

"You'll be back to your old self in no time Cait, once we learn who's doing this stuff and why."

Caitlin leaned over and Hawke put his arms around her. They sat on the sofa and talked about her visit home, talked about anything but the crash. Finally, they just sat there and stared into the fire together. When she yawned against his shoulder, he softly told her to close her eyes and try to get some rest. He felt her relax and she fell soundly asleep in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

"Well what did you find out?" Hawke asked Dominic as he passed him a cup of coffee when he walked through the door the next morning.

"Not a hell of a lot. I met up with Michael so you don't have to talk to him later. I relayed the information that Caitlin gave us last night on what physically happened to the chopper when she lost tail control and then power. I also put in a request to the production company for that information we need. They said that they should have it for us by the end of tomorrow. Where's Cait?"

"Still sleeping, we stayed up and talked half the night. I can really see now why she's the way she is about everything, including her mother."

"Did she have any more nightmares?"

"No, she took half a sleeping pill and slept like a baby."

The sounds of the shower came down the stairs.

"Sleeping beauty's up." Dom said with his gapped tooth smile.

"Good morning guys." Caitlin greeted as she came down the stairs. Even dressed in the same clothes she'd worn the day before, she looked better, well rested.

She walked to Hawke and took the cup of coffee he was holding. He kissed her forehead and put his arm around her shoulders as she drank from the cup. Dominic smiled at the sight in front of him.

"How'd you sleep?" asked Hawke.

Caitlin smiled. "Okay. The sleeping pill helped. It made me too tired to dream."

"I brought you some clothes." Dom handed her the overnight bag he'd picked up from her apartment that morning.

They ate breakfast quietly before Dom then left for the hangar. Hawke took Caitlin to the lair and took her up in the lady. He noticed that it had a calming effect on her and for the first time since the accident she looked relaxed and safe. They flew around the Valley for a bit and for a short time he let her pilot the Lady but she was still a little shaky. That was more nerves than lack of ability he concluded.

At Santini Air later that afternoon, Michael questioned her some more about the accident privately in the office. After a while, they both walked out. Caitlin was visibly upset from the meeting. Michael said his goodbyes to the guys and went back to FIRM headquarters. Caitlin walked outside and sat down on the picnic table just outside the hanger doors. Dom watched her from inside the hanger. Something was bothering her, he could tell.

"String, Cait is just sitting on the picnic table, staring into space."

"I'll go check to see if she's alright," replied Hawke.

He went outside and sat down beside her on the table.

"Cait," he began. He took her hand in his. "Remember, we made a promise a while back, no secrets."

"No secrets," repeated Caitlin.

"Well, what did Michael have to say?"

"He said that everything they've found so far points to me as being the target of the sabotage."

"Why?"

"He said that he wasn't at liberty to tell me at this time. But, I think it has a lot to do with the timing of when the tail rotor blew."

Hawke turned to look her in the eyes and she continued.

"Hawke, Michael said that the only way for the rotor to have blown the way and when it did is if there was someone watching the entire time. To make sure that no one else got hurt."

"But Cait, you weren't supposed to fly that day."

"I know that's what's so disturbing. It means that I'm being watched by someone enough for them to know that if you aren't available to do the flying I'm your immediate replacement, not Dom."

Hawke pulled her into a one arm hug.

"We'll figure it out Cait."

Later in the afternoon, Michael phoned the hanger and requested a meeting with the three of them. Before they went, they stopped at Le's school and picked him up. At the FIRM Marella took him to the cafeteria for a drink so the adults could talk.

"Caitlin, up until this moment I was not authorized to share all of the investigators' findings with you."

"Just tell me what they found, Michael. These past few days have been pure hell."

"All three of you better sit down. The investigators found remains of some sort of radio controlled explosive device in what used to be the tail section of the helicopter."

"Oh my," Caitlin whispered as she started to shake.

Dominic moved over to hold her and tried to calm her down.

"What now, Michael?" Hawke said not even trying to conceal his rising irritation and anger.

"Cait goes to a safe house."

"No!" She cut Michael off mid-sentence.

"Caitlin, it's for you own protection. At least until we can figure out who did this."

"Michael, I refuse to live in fear or like a caged animal."

"Be reasonable Cait," Michael pleaded.

"Michael, can I have a word in private?" Hawke's eyes narrowed on the spy.

Michael wrenched his eyes away from the distraught woman. He escorted Hawke from the room.

Caitlin sat on the couch in Michael's office with Dominic still holding her hand telling her that everything would be alright, that he and Hawke would never let anything happen to her.

A few minutes later, they returned.

"Okay, it's been settled. Dom, take Le back to the hanger and wait for us there. Cait and I will meet you there in a little while. Michael, no one is to know what we just talked about. Come on Cait, we're going to your place to pack a few things."

"But..."

"No buts, let's go."

Caitlin opened the door to her apartment. The site that met her inside startled her. The place had been ransacked. Everything was pulled out all over the floor. Hawke ushered her in and closed the door. He pulled his gun from the small of his back and methodically swept the apartment. He returned to Cait a few minutes later.

"It's clear."

He stopped Cait from touching anything and called Michael. In less time than it takes to make a pot of coffee, Michael and his team were all over Caitlin's apartment dusting for prints. Caitlin and Hawke just watched as the team descended on the apartment going into every nook and cranny. Caitlin leaned against the entrance wall shaking her head in disbelief.

When they were done, they allowed Caitlin to pack up a few things. She grabbed one of her big suitcases and started to pick out some clothing to pack.

"Pack some sweaters too. It gets chilly."

"Where..."

Hawke came up behind her and motioned to here not to talk, just in case there was someone listening. So as she packed Hawke would nod yes or no to whatever clothes she pulled out of the dresser. Once she packed and closed the suitcase she packed a small knapsack with a few personal items and then they left.

They arrived back at Santini Air and they loaded Hawke's helicopter with her stuff.

"Okay, now are you going to tell me where I'm going to be hiding out?"

"My place," he said with a grin.

Caitlin looked surprised.

"Michael won't be recording that arrangement anywhere so as not to leak the information to anyone. I'll keep you safe."


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

"Are you settled?" Hawke asked as Caitlin came down the stairs.

"Yes, thank you for the dresser."

"You're welcome."

"Uncle String, where am I going to sleep while Caitlin stays here?"

"You my friend are going to stay with your Uncle Dom," replied Dominic tossing Le's hair.

"Alright, I can play Atari!"

"Not until your homework's done. You promise?"

"I promise Uncle String."

"Come on Half pint help me unpack the rest of the chopper." Dominic said guiding the young boy outside.

"How long do you think you can put up with me being under foot?" Caitlin asked.

"As long as it takes to get you safe," he said more harshly than he intended. "Besides, you could never be under foot."

"Alright I can see there's no point in arguing with you."

As Dominic and Le went about preparing dinner, Hawke noticed Caitlin was sitting outside on the porch bench. He went upstairs and grabbed one of his big sweaters. It was getting chilly and the last thing that anyone wanted was for her to catch pneumonia.

When he came back in….

"String?"

"Yeah, Dom."

"I don't think I could stand it if anything was to happen to that young lady. She's kind of grown on me. I like having her around."

"Yeah, me too."

As they quietly ate dinner, Hawke watched Caitlin intensely. The way she carried on with his nephew, he could see how much she loved the boy and how much Le loved her back, but Hawke saw something else in her eyes and that was fear and pure exhaustion. He thought to himself that his life would not be as full if something happened to Caitlin. He cared too much and wondered when those feelings first surfaced. Was it when Horn brainwashed him a year and a half ago or was it sooner, when her plane was hijacked on her way to Erin's wedding? He wasn't sure, but he was sure about one thing, Caitlin was a big part of his life and protecting her was his number one priority.

Dom cleaned up the dinner dishes while Le sat at the dining room table and finished his homework. Hawke sat on the edge of the fireplace drinking a cup of coffee. Caitlin excused herself, went upstairs, and headed for bed.

"She's not handling this very well. Did Michael's team pick up any good clues from her apartment," Dom said as Caitlin walked up the stairs.

"Michael didn't say if they found anything. And when it comes to Cait, sometimes it's hard to tell how she's handling it. Normally, she's a very strong willed woman but anyone would crack under the pressure she's been under since she came home," Hawke stated.

Just as the guys were talking, Caitlin locked herself in the bathroom. She started to shake uncontrollably and then she started to cry. The tears came slowly at first then the sobs started. She grabbed a towel to muffle the sound of her crying and in the process knocked a bottle of shampoo down.

Hawke heard the bottle fall and he headed for the stairs. When he got to the bedroom, he saw the bathroom door closed.

"Caitlin, are you alright?"

When there was no answer he tried the doorknob. It was locked.

"Cait, come on, open the door. Cait! Open the door!"

Hawke couldn't wait. He used his pocket knife and forced the door open. Caitlin was crouched in the corner, shaking like a leaf and crying. The sight of her falling apart took him aback. He helped her up and guided her to the bed.

"Dom, get up here."

"What in the world is going on up here? Caitlin?"

"Dom, there're tranquillizers in the medicine cabinet. Grab one."

Dom grabbed the pill bottle, shook out one, and grabbed a glass of water. He handed them to Hawke.

"Here Cait, take it. Don't shake your head no, it'll calm you down."

Caitlin took the pill and in a few minutes was resting comfortably. Dom stayed with her while Hawke went down stairs to calm Le down. He told Le that Caitlin was alright now, she was just under a great deal of stress, and that it just all overtook her. Dominic came down the stairs.

"Sleeping?" asked Hawke.

"Sort of but I think she'll be okay for the time being. I'll check on her in a little while, just before I take Le back to town."

Hawke put another log on the fire and with the poker in hand he just stood there and stared into it. Dom moved up behind him and put his hand on his dear friend's shoulder.

"Dom, she can't do this. What happened up there just proved it. If she keeps so much inside she'll break. I'm really worried about her."

"You're more than just worried String. I've known you too long not to notice how you feel about that woman upstairs. You want to help but you don't know where to start. String, you should tell her how you feel. Sometimes you're just about as stubborn as your father was. It took him close to almost losing your mother to someone else before he told her how he felt. I watched him go through it and I'm not going to just sit here and watch his son go through the same thing. Tell her. You never know it may help her get through this."

Hawke opened his mouth for an angry retort of denial. Instead he found himself sighing.

"Dom, am I that transparent?"

"To tell you the truth, yes, at times you are. String, no one's made you laugh or more relaxed about the world than Caitlin. Her outlook on life has become the bright spot at work. Not to overlook the fact that she's saved our bacon more than once."

"You're right about that. You're usually right. Don't let that go to your head. Yeah, I care about her and…I want to tell her but right at the moment I really don't know how to help her and that scares the hell out of me."

"Uncle String?" said a quiet voice from behind.

"Yeah Le?"

"Is Caitlin going to be alright?"

"I don't know. I just don't know, but we're going to do everything we can to try and make her alright."

In the morning Hawke awoke to the smell of fresh coffee. Caitlin was on her way back up the stairs.

"Good Morning."

"Oh! I didn't know you were up."

"Just. Coffee smells good."

"I needed a cup so I snuck down and made a pot."

She sat down on the stairs and Hawke got up off of the couch and joined her after he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Dom went back to town after he felt that you were going to sleep for a while. He'll be back later on with Le. It's Saturday and it's fishing day."

"Hawke?"

"Yeah?"

"Could this stuff have anything to do with what I've done with you and Airwolf?"

"I can't say that that thought hasn't crossed my mind. Anyone in particular you're thinking of?"

"I don't know," she replied quietly.

"How about when Dom gets here we make a list of everyone we've been in direct contact with and we get Michael to check it out."

Caitlin nodded her head in agreement. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. Hawke reached over and put his arm around her shoulders. He'd been doing that a lot lately, she mused.

"I think I'm going to go get dressed and take your dog for a walk."

"Do you mind if I join you? I'd like to talk to you about something."

"Okay," she said while wondering why with all the talking they'd been doing lately he hadn't already said what he wanted to.

Together they walked up the mountain behind the cabin. For a while neither of them spoke, just enjoyed the view.

"My dad would have loved this," Caitlin said softly.

Hawke came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. She relaxed and leaned back into him. He kissed the side of her head.

_I could get used to this,_ she thought. _Well, not if it means being stalked, but still._

"You don't talk about your family very much."

"No not really. I didn't have a happy childhood. My parents stayed together 'for the children.' So, I grew up in a home of constant fighting and silent treatments depending on the disagreement."

"But you said you and your Dad were close."

"Yes, but not a first. I didn't really know him until I was a teenager when he retired from driving a truck."

Caitlin sat down on a fallen tree and rubbed her leg. Hawke sat down beside her.

"Sore?"

"Just a bit, it's the first time without the cane to lean on for support."

Hawke leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Caitlin smiled and wondered who this affectionate man was and what had he done with her Hawke. _Her Hawke_, she liked the sound of that.

"You can use me as support whenever you need." he said quietly and he kissed her again.

As much as she didn't want to break the mood, she was dying to know.

"What were you going to talk to me about?"

"We can talk about it later."

Caitlin bit her lip and tried to hide her disappointment.

"Okay. Hawke, I hope I didn't scare Le last night."

"He's a strong kid and he knows what you're going through is rough."

"I didn't mean to crack like that last night. But having my apartment ransacked, kind of made what Michael told us yesterday crystal clear."

"It's okay, really."

They got up and headed back to the cabin. Caitlin took Hawke at his word and leaned on him as her leg was getting extremely sore. As they came around the back of the cabin the sounds of an approaching helicopter came over the mountains.

"Sounds like Michael," Hawke said entering the cabin.

"Boy, you are good." Caitlin said laughing as Hawke sat her down on the sofa.

Michael walked in. He looked like he was in a mood.

"Caitlin, we've got some news."

Hawke went and got his friend a cup of coffee.

"Thanks. We dusted your apartment for prints and ruled out your neighbor Ms. McCall. We found one set of good prints that at first we couldn't identify."

"Well?" Caitlin questioned.

"It's Angelica Horn."

Caitlin collapsed back into the sofa. Hawke put a steading hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, we have a name and a face but why would she try something now. It's been just over a year since her father and I tangled," Hawke said.

"We're not sure. I have Samantha digging around and hopefully we'll come up with something."

"Cait, are you okay?"

"I don't know. I should be, now that I know who is behind this but…I'm not. Hawke, I'm not sure how much you remember when Horn brainwashed you but…His daughter is dangerous and manipulative, capable of anything."

"I seem to remember you saying after our first meeting with the Horns that Angelica was yours.

"You said what?" Michael questioned, surprised.

"Okay, okay. I was angry. She hurt Hawke and made him hurt Dom. But for her to come back now, Michael, are you sure, really sure it's Angelica?"

"Positive."

"Now what?"

"That's up to you Caitlin. The only way we can catch and stop her before she kills someone, is to draw her out."

"Which means going back to my apartment, going back to Santini Air, stuff like that?"

"Exactly," Michael agreed.

Hawke watched as Caitlin struggled to get up off the sofa. Caitlin moved slowly to stand in front of the fire and Hawke moved to stand beside her. She was staring into the fire. Hawke reached out and touched her arm. She looked into his eyes and he saw something that he had never seen before, pure fear.

"Michael, could you wait outside for a few minutes?" Hawke asked, never taking his eyes off Caitlin. When Michael had stepped outside he continued. "Cait, we could finish this now. No one else has to get hurt."

"I know," she whispered.

"I won't let anything happen to you." Hawke said pulling her into his arms, "This ends here and now. I want my Caitlin back."

"I know you'd do anything to protect me. I'm just afraid that someone else _will_ get hurt."

"Who?"

"You, before I agree to this the Lady has to be nearby."

"That goes without question. We'll bring her in and store her in the hanger. Don't worry Cait. You'll be safe."

"Alright, but who's going to stay with me in my apartment?"

Hawke smiled and he held her close. He kissed her forehead and whispered in her ear.

"I will."

Michael poked his head in and saw Hawke and Caitlin hugging in front of the fire there.

_Should I interrupt them or should I leave those two alone for a while_, he thought.

"Michael you might as well come back in now," Hawke said irritated at what was probably going through the spy's mind.

"What have we decided?" Michael said humor lacing his words. He rubbed his mustache to hide the grin forming at Hawke's glare.

"I'll do it. But, I want this done and over with quickly and Angelica Horn behind bars so she can't hurt anyone else ever again."

"Okay...I'll get back and set things up."


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

At Santini Air, Caitlin got back in the swing of things quickly. It was as if she'd never left. She did some paperwork and took on a few students but she was always mindful of the FIRM being all over the airport.

Hawke was amazed at how quickly she adjusted to being back in her apartment. They spent the better part of a day cleaning up the mess from the break-in. Hawke was looking at her university degree and her police academy graduation certificate when Caitlin handed him a cup of coffee.

"The spare room has been made up. I know it's not the cabin..."

"It's okay Cait. Le's staying with Dom until this is all over and done with so don't worry about me...I can sleep anywhere."

Caitlin picked up an old book. It looked to be around fifty or sixty years old.

"My Dad gave me this when I graduated the police academy. It was first published in 1925. He found it in an old book store on one of his many travels."

"May I?"

Caitlin handed him the book. It was a book of poetry and Hawke noted that it was very well read. Inside marking a page was a photograph of him and Dominic that Caitlin had taken last summer at the cabin on Labor Day. He looked up to see Caitlin starting dinner in the kitchen area. He could see the pain in her eyes from working all day and walking on that leg.

"Caitlin, why don't you sit down and relax, I can make dinner."

"No way you're on my turf now Stringfellow Hawke and I'll do the cooking."

The next day, Caitlin's last student had left for the day and she was in the office relaxing when the telephone rang.

"Good Afternoon, Santini Air."

"Hello Caitlin," the female voice on the other end said.

"Uh, hello?"

"I can see you've had the guts to go back to work. How's the leg?"

Caitlin pushed the button on the tracing device and waved frantically at Hawke.

"The leg is fine." Caitlin answered coolly.

"I know what you're doing and I know what you did and I can get to you. I've already proved that. Don't worry, it won't take me long to get you where it really hurts."

Hawke came running into the office.

"Oh by the way," the voice on the phone continued, "That is a cute young boy you have there now. You'd better keep an eye on him. I wouldn't want anything nasty to happen to him."

"You'd better no..., she hung up!"

"She wasn't on long enough for a trace," Hawke said with disappointment. "Cait, what's wrong?"

"She threatened Le. Oh god, Hawke, I'm so sorry. This is all, my fault..."

"Hey, you've got nothing to be sorry about." Hawke said as he put his hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

"But Le is an innocent here. How can we protect him?"

"Let me take him home."

Caitlin and Hawke spun around. Standing in the doorway was Caitlin's older sister, Erin.

"Erin, what in the world..?"

Caitlin hugged her sister.

"I got a little worried so I thought I would come on out and check up on you."

"Hawke, I'd like you to meet my sister, Erin. Erin this is Stringfellow Hawke."

"Pleased to finally me you Erin."

"The feeling is mutual Hawke." She shot her sister a wink. To finally meet the man her sister was so obviously in love with was definitely worth the trip. "Okay you two now why in the world would you need to protect Hawke's nephew?"

"Erin, you'd better sit down." Hawke began.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

"You're being what?" questioned Erin after Caitlin and Hawke filled her in.

"Stalked," answered Caitlin.

"Before we get into all of this some more, are you sure, Erin, that taking Le back to Dallas with you won't be a problem?" asked Hawke.

"Of course not, there's lots of room out at the ranch. He can do some horseback riding and stuff like that."

"Caitlin, fill your sister in while I pick Le up from school. And when I say fill her in, I mean about everything."

Caitlin explained to her sister about Angelica Horn and what the plan was to draw her out at least what it was before the woman threatened to hurt Hawke's nephew. She also swore her sister to secrecy about the military equipment Hawke was 'safeguarding' for her own safety and protection. Erin agreed and she told her sister that she was proud of her.

"By the way, he is good looking."

"Erin! Yes he is, isn't he," smirked Caitlin.

"I can definitely see what the attraction is. Caitlin, sis, does he know how you feel?"

Caitlin shook her head. She told Erin a brief summary of what had happened to Hawke before she met him.

"So somewhere in the back of that man's mind is the idea that he is cursed and that everyone who gets close to him dies?"

"Seems that way," Caitlin agreed.

"Oh sis."

"It's okay. If I have anything it's the best friendship I have ever had with anyone. But don't get me wrong, one of these days I will tell him how much I love him."

Unbeknownst to the sisters, Hawke had returned from picking up his nephew and had stopped just outside the office door. He was about to knock when he heard Caitlin's remark. He turned around and walked back outside the hanger where he'd left his nephew, reading a comic book.

"Uncle String, you sure you want me to go to Dallas with Caitlin's sister?"

"Le, I don't want you to go. But for your own safety you should go, just until we catch the person who's threatening Cait."

"Okay. It should be fun. I've never been to Dallas before."

Hawke didn't hear Le's last comment. He was lost in thought over what he had accidently heard Caitlin say. He'd known for a while that she cared about him. That part was no surprise because since he'd met her, Hawke had cared about her. She was a very easy person to care about. She had a way about here that made you trust her almost as soon as you met her. Hawke had fought that feeling for the longest time.

He realized when her flight a couple of years ago was hijacked that he had grown beyond just trusting her to actually caring about her but he still wasn't sure when his feelings had grown beyond just caring.

Hawke didn't want to think that it was love, but he knew that his life would be empty if she left or if something happened to her. Maybe it was love. He had never given his heart freely to anyone since Gabrielle. He was afraid of getting hurt, him, afraid. Dominic was right. It was time to tell her how he felt and let what would develop, as a result of that, develop.

"A penny for your thoughts," Caitlin said. She was curious at his inscrutable expression.

"Hi Cait, where's Erin?" Hawke tried to hide the fact that she'd snuck up on him.

"Well you looked lost in thought so I took the liberty of introducing them."

"They look engrossed in that comic he was reading."

"Well as soon as Erin told Le that her husband has a huge collection, she was the coolest thing since the Lady. Have you told him yet?"

"Uhhuh and at this moment it looks like we will be hard pressed not to let him go. He has a new best friend."

"Erin's always been like that."

Hawke put his arm around Caitlin's shoulders and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"It must run in the family."

Caitlin was a little confused over his last comment but if he continued being so affectionate he could say whatever he wanted about her family.

"Here comes Dom. You tell him about the phone call."

"Okay, by the way, where's dinner going to be tonight, your apartment or my cabin?"

"I was thinking my place because it's close to Erin's hotel."


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 6**

After dinner all of them were sitting in the living room of Caitlin's apartment. Dom was agreeable to sending Le to Dallas to stay with Erin and her husband. Le was really looking forward to it, if only to see 'Uncle Paul's' comic book collection.

As they were discussing what Le was going to do while in Dallas, Caitlin went into the kitchen to start the dishes. Hawke followed here in and picked up a dish towel and started to dry.

"You know, I keep forgetting how domesticated you are Mr. Hawke."

"You keep that up Miss O'Shannessy and I'll leave."

Hawke faked hurt feelings and Caitlin started to laugh. Hawke smiled and he started to laugh. It was great to see Caitlin laughing and smiling again.

"What is all of the noise in there?" yelled Dominic.

"Oh nothing!" they yelled back together.

Caitlin leaned on the sink for support. Suddenly she felt very light headed.

"Hawke?"

Just as Hawke was turning around to answer she collapsed. Hawke caught her in time to keep her head from hitting the floor.

"Whoa! Easy does it." he whispered.

Hawke grabbed a cloth from a drawer and wet it with some cool water. He placed it gently across Caitlin's forehead.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Are you alright?"

"I think so. I've just been so tired lately that I think my body just wants to shut down for a while."

"Well when this is all over with you can let your body shut down for however long it wants"

Hawke helped her up. He kissed her on the cheek and they went back to everyone in the living room.

"Okay now that you two are back I'm going to take Half pint here back to the cabin to pack a few things," Dom stated.

"And by the looks of you little sister, I should be heading back to my hotel room and let you get some sleep."

"Oh there's no rush Erin."

"Cait, you can visit with Erin in the morning before her plane leaves. She's right. You need your rest."

As everyone left to go their separate ways, Caitlin went to the bathroom and started to run a bath. Hawke picked up the old poetry book that Caitlin has shown him earlier in the day. Thirty minutes later Caitlin came out in her bathrobe to say goodnight.

Hawke put the book down and motioned her to join him on the couch. She sat down and leaned into his arms. She relaxed and put her head on his chest. Hawke smoothed her wet hair.

"Feel better?"

"Much. A hot bath can do wonders."

"In the morning, after Le and Erin get on their way, you and I will head out to the Lair and bring the Lady back to the hanger."

Caitlin nodded in agreement. She closed her eyes and Hawke kissed the top of her head. He reached carefully forward and picked up the book of poetry. While Caitlin laid there resting, he did some more reading. Hawke felt Caitlin start to fall asleep.

"Hey. I think you would be more comfortable in your bed. The way you're laying here you'll get one hell of a kink in your neck."

"I guess." She liked being so close to Hawke and the prospect of her own bed didn't seem nearly as appealing.

They got up off of the couch and she started to walk down the hallway towards the bedrooms. Hawke took Caitlin's hand and stopped her in front of her room.

"There is something I have been meaning to do since you came home from Dallas."

And with that he kissed her. Caitlin was taken by the utter surprise of it all. At first she didn't know what to do then she relaxed and started to respond. When he finally pulled back for breath, Hawke swept her hair from her shoulder. She leaned on the wall for support, her eyes wide. Nothing was said between them as Hawke leaned in and kissed her again. This time there was no thinking involved and Caitlin responded right away. Hawke opened her bedroom door and they made their way inside. He gently laid her on the bed; all the while they continued kissing.

He started to open her robe.

"You can stop me..." Hawke started to say when Caitlin touched one finger to his lips.

"No I don't want you to stop," Caitlin whispered.

Hawke smiled and he continued to open her robe. The passion that had been building between them for the past two years was melting away all of the barriers that time had put up. Hawke and Caitlin made love for the first time slowly as if they had been lovers forever.

Hawke snuggled in behind Caitlin and wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you and I'm sorry it's taken so long to tell you," he whispered as he kissed her earlobe.

Caitlin rolled over to look into his eyes.

"You don't know how long I have waited to hear you say those words to me and for me to tell you that, I love you too."

They kissed again and Caitlin started to roll back to face away from him. Hawke stopped her mid roll. He wasn't finished. He started to kiss her again. He moved over her and they made love again.

"Now what," Caitlin asked quietly when they laid back arms and legs tangled.

"Now, we get Angelica Horn so we can start our life," Hawke replied.

And with that Caitlin fell asleep in Hawke's arms. As Hawke drifted off to sleep he had the biggest smile on his face. His last thoughts were that nothing could stop them now, not even Angelica Horn.


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 7**

In the airport passenger waiting area, Caitlin said her goodbyes to her sister and Hawke said goodbye to his nephew. As they watched the plane taxi out to the runway, Hawke said that it was time to fetch the Lady.

Back at Santini Air, they rolled Airwolf in and went back to work. Although work was farthest thing from Caitlin's mind.

What happened last night in her apartment was on her mind. Her relationship with Hawke had just taken a giant leap forward. She smiled as she thought about the quiet breakfast that they shared that morning. They almost didn't make it to the airport; they almost went back to bed. Caitlin laughed softly to herself. It was as if they were making up for lost time.

It was a quiet day at the hanger, perfect for minor repairs and to catch up on paperwork. Caitlin was sitting at her desk playing with her pencil. She was still having a hard time grasping the fact that she was Angelica Horn's target. Her thoughts went back to her apartment and the cleaning that she and Hawke did yesterday. There was something nagging at her. She glanced at the pictures on her desk then at the ones on Hawke's desk.

That's it! A picture was missing from her entrance table. It was one of Hawke and Le taken last Labor Day at the cabin. Now it started to make sense, first, the tampering of the Jet Ranger, next the break-in of her apartment, then the off handed threat to Le. Caitlin put her pencil down and stared out at Hawke, who was working on the Lady, she was not the target. Hawke was.

She left the desk and walked out to the hanger. Hawke was doing some minor work on Airwolf. It seemed strange having her here, out of the Lair. But in a way, Caitlin felt more safe and comfortable with her here.

"Hawke, can I talk to you for just a second?"

"Sure, be right there."

Caitlin went out and sat in the sun out on the picnic table. How was she going to tell the man that she loved with all her heart that Michael was wrong and she wasn't the target, he was.

"What's up?"

"I'm not the target."

"Cait," he began.

"Just think about it for a sec and you'll see that it makes sense. It just dawned on me what's been bothering me at home. The picture that I took of you and half pint at the Labor Day barbeque that we had out at the cabin is missing."

"What's that have to do with you not being the target?"

"Nothing on its own but coupled with the fact that Angelica would know that a pilot trained to fly the lady would have been able to land any aircraft disabled the way the Jet Ranger was without hurting anyone on the ground. Then take the fact that she threatened Le while talking to me. Now before I say this don't get me wrong I love that boy but as far as she is concerned Le is not family so why threaten him while talking to me?"

"Because you're not the target, I am."

"Hawke, that's the only thing that makes any sense. What's the best way to get to your enemy?"

"Distract him. Damn it Cait, how come we didn't get this earlier?"

"The picture was the final piece of the puzzle. Now the only question that needs to be answered is where do we go from here?"


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 8**

Angelica Horn was sitting in a chair in her hotel room. She was smiling nearly ear to ear. So far everything was going according to plan. Stringfellow Hawke was so worried about protecting his precious Caitlin that he had left himself wide open for attack. Now, what to do? That pesky little boy was out of the picture according to her spies. Angelica was certain that he had seen her near the Santini chopper before little Miss Perfect took off. They were all going to pay for the "murder" of her father.

In Angelica's twisted mind, her father was a genius, a criminal genius. He almost had the one of a kind helicopter in his possession when Mr. Hawke's loved ones interfered. Well not this time and when her enemies are finally dealt with in the 'Horn' manner her father could finally rest in peace.

She had believed Hawke would come back for her when he escaped her father's control. She had believed he would forgive her for the deception. But, as time went on and Hawke never appeared to whisk her away, she became angry. Her love turned to obsession and hate. Her obsession had driven her to believe that her father was talking to her from the grave. She had grown to believe that when she had disposed of Hawke, Caitlin, and Dominic, the voices would stop.

She got up out of the chair and started to pace in the room. What would her next move be? The hone call would have certainly unnerved the high strung Caitlin but Angelica knew so little about her. What would this woman be capable of? Could Caitlin prove to be a barrier to Angelica completing her mission? No! There was no one capable of stopping her because she was a _Horn_.

She walked over to the table where she had started to assemble her master plan. C4 is extremely safe as long as there is no power hooked up to it. It was just like play dough. Play dough that could bring down an entire hanger. The resulting explosions of airplane fuel touched off by the initial bomb would be seen and heard for miles around. But, for her plan to work she had to be sure that all of her enemies were trapped in the building.

Angelica started to laugh. It would be a glorious sight to see.


	9. Chapter 9

**Part 9**

Hawke and Caitlin met with Dom at a local bar frequented by the fly boys from the Airport. Dom could tell that there was something different about the way that they acted. Almost like two people in love. He put that thought aside as Caitlin brought him up to speed on the change in direction.

Dom ordered a pitcher of beer and two more glasses and then they sat in close to discuss how to draw Miss Horn out into the open. Hawke suggested the hanger because it was away from too many people and that they had the Lady stashed there proved to be the better idea of all of those that they came up with.

Hawke got up from the table to call Michael. As he did his hand lingered on Caitlin's shoulder. Dom definitely knew that something was different with those two. He started to grin.

"Well, talk to me Red," Dom pushed. He waggled his eyebrows.

"There's nothing to talk about Dom," she said even though she couldn't help the ear to ear grin. "You'll just have to talk to Hawke after all of this Horn business is taken care of."

"Oh you're not fair," Dominic pouted. Caitlin laughed at his petulant expression.

Hawke came back to the table. He assessed Dom's grumpy features then glanced at Cait. She looked like the Cheshire cat. He shook his head and sat down.

"Okay, Michael will be here in twenty minutes. He agreed about the hanger but was none too thrilled to learn that the Lady was there."

"Michael, 'Archangel', who or whatever he likes to go by can go to hell." scowled Dominic.

"Relax Dom, Michael is only thinking like a spy and a spy doesn't like to see his investment right in the middle of whatever we're getting ourselves into unless it was his idea. But, you ask him as a friend…he would probably want the Lady as close to his friends as possible."

"Cait's right. I told him that before we figured out Caitlin wasn't the target she wouldn't have agreed to take part in anything without the Lady nearby. He calmed down after that. "

"Yeah but it still burns me," Dominic stated sipping on his beer.


	10. Chapter 10

**Part 10**

Caitlin checked her ammunition clip for her gun again. She was nervous. She really was the only person who truly understood how dangerous Angelica Horn really was. During their first encounter, Dominic was drugged and locked up and Hawke was brainwashed. Caitlin remembered only too well that woman's sarcasm as she spoke with her father outside of Dom's cell.

Michael was in the hanger talking with Hawke about procedure. Dom about had a heart attack when the spy had walked into the hanger without his trademark white but clothed in the black of a field operative's suit.

"Finally showing your true colors, eh Michael?" Dom said in passing.

Dom handed Caitlin a coffee.

"I guess now we wait," he said as he sat down at his desk in the office.

"Michael had his people put the word out on the street that Santini Air was working all night retrofitting a chopper for a movie shoot tomorrow. Tonight should be the night that all of this madness is over and done with," Caitlin stated as she drank her coffee.

They heard a crash in the hangar.

"What the...!" Caitlin started.

"She's here," Dominic intoned like someone in a horror flick.

They both hit the floor.

There was an exchange of gun fire in the hangar. A canister flew in from the side door, erupting. It released billows of smoke.

Hawke ducked into the office door and came up short. He stared down into the barrels of both Dom and Cait's guns.

"Get out of the office, smoke bomb!" He grabbed Cait and started to drag her from the office. He released her at the door and tried to provide cover.

Caitlin heard laughter and froze. Hawke turned around to see Caitlin standing in the office doorway. Angelica Horn had come out of hiding.

"Cait, come on!"

Caitlin snapped back to reality and ran towards him when something hit her in the shoulder. It hit her so hard that it spun her around and caused her to hit the ground. Hawke saw the whole thing in slow motion. Scenes of Gabrielle flooded his mind as Caitlin fell to the floor. But, when he saw Caitlin struggle to up he put those images aside and ran over to help.

"You've been shot!"

"It's okay. Not too bad I think. Go, Hawke, stop her before someone else gets hurt!"

He kissed her hard and reluctantly turned away.

"Michael, stay with her, Dom, let's finish this."

Hawke and Dom ran to Airwolf.

"Something I should know," Michael asked as one of his angels applied fist aide to Caitlin.

"You're a spy Michael. Figure it out your-self," she said.

Outside the hanger, Angelica Horn was troubled. Her well laid plan was falling apart. They had been lying in wait for her. The bomb that she built was sitting on the seat next to her in the helicopter gun ship she was piloting. Angelica was furious. She would not lose this time. Her father was going to rest in peace! Then she heard that howl. It sent shivers down her back. She turned her ship around and faced the black and beautiful site that was Airwolf.

As Hawke was preparing to open fire, Angelica banked to the right and headed off over the Airport.

"Hawke you can't shoot her down here there's too much air traffic."

"I'll try to force her out over the water."

Angelica looked back and saw Airwolf change direction. She was so angry and hot for revenge that she turned and followed. She opened fire with side mounted machine guns. They had no effect on the Lady. The bullets just sparked off her armor. Hawke turned Airwolf around and opened fire with the 30 mm cannons, hitting Angelica's helicopter. Angelica let out and involuntary scream and then she happened to look down at her bomb.

A bullet must have ricocheted into the cockpit because there was a chain reaction happening. She knew that it was going to explode but she wasn't going to go alone. She started to head right into Airwolf's flight path.

"What in hell!"

"She's heading right for us."

"This ends now!" and with that Hawke fired a Redeye but before it could hit its target, Angelica's chopper blew up.

Hawke turned to avoid the debris and headed back to the hanger. As they landed they saw an ambulance. Caitlin was just sitting on the bumper. She was being attended to by one of the paramedics.

"You should really go with us to the hospital Miss," the paramedic said.

Hawke walked over to Caitlin. She looked up and saw him coming towards her. She got up and met him half way. He picked her up and kissed her deeply.

"It's over?" she asked.

"It's over," he replied. And with that they walked back to the hanger arm in arm.


	11. Chapter 11

**Part 11**

"Aunt Cait, can I have some more pizza?"

"Yes Le, you _may_ have some more. Just this time you eat it and not Tet."

Hawke walked into the kitchen where Caitlin and her sister were talking. He watched the way she got along with Erin and he smiled. He couldn't begin to believe how much one person could love another until he felt how much love he actually had for Caitlin. She turned to face him. Boy she was getting big. Twins the doctor told them.

"Well Mrs. Hawke I think it's time you got off of your feet."

"I was just about to show Erin the nursery then I was going to sit down for a while."

Dom came in with Le behind him. He was happy to see his 'son' happy and about to be a father twice over. Dom felt that he could die now and he would know that String would be taken care of, Cait would see to that.

"Oh god!"

"Cait...what's the matter?" Erin asked.

"It's time," Caitlin answered as liquid began to soil her pants.

"Time," Erin said noticing the spreading moisture.

Caitlin nodded. Erin went to get a towel and her sister's suitcase. Dom herded Hawke. They all boarded the helicopter and headed for the hospital.

Dom looked back at Caitlin sandwiched between Erin and Hawke. Le served as co-pilot.

Caitlin smiled back at him. The past was finally the past and Hawke's future was looking bright. A new family was to beginning.

**END**


End file.
